Challenge 2023 Spring Bingo

Spring Bingo

It’s 21 March and spring is upon us. The air is turning warm, the first flowers are blooming and strawberries are beginning to appear in the garden. To match the Autumn Bingo Challenge that the wonderful @devilinthedetails has been running for the past few years, I give you the Spring Bingo Challenge.

How to play Spring Bingo

1. Choose a row, column, or diagonal with five words from the Bingo Board below.
2. Write a story of at least 500 words for either the Star Wars or Non-Star Wars fandoms inspired by or featuring the words from your chosen row, column, or diagonal.
3. Post your story in the appropriate Star Wars or Non-Star Wars fanfiction board.
4. Post a link to your story in this thread so others can read it.
5. Finish one or more such stories, and you’ll be a Bingo Winner.
6. Finish five or more such stories, and you’ll be upgraded to Ultimate Bingo Champion.
7. Include all the board prompts in a single story of at least 2500 words, and you’ll be further upgraded to All Around The Board Bingo Champion!

Spring Bingo Board




I did my best to include spring-related elements from a variety of cultures, because I’m like that. You’ll find a few notes about the less obvious prompts behind the spoiler tag.

Spoiler

Red & white yarn is a reference to martiatika, a type of very simple bracelet made of entwined threads of red and white yarn. They are worn from 01 March until they fall off on their own, especially by children, and they are believed to protect from sunburn at the time of the year when the sun grows stronger. This tradition is alive and well in several countries of the south-east Balkans (AFAIK Greece, Albania, North Macedonia and Bulgaria, although there could be more), although of course people also use sunscreen because we’re not entirely stupid.

The breeze is a reference to the Egyptian feast of Sham al-Nessim (literally ‘smelling the breeze’). This is a tradition that dates back to Ancient Egypt and is celebrated as a national public holiday by all Egyptians, regardless of religious affiliation, on the Monday following Easter in the orthodox calendar. The custom is to spend the day outdoors picnicking on specific foods and to colour boiled eggs and gift them.

The bonfire is a reference to Chaharshanbeh Suri, the fire dance festival that marks the beginning of the festivities for Nowruz, the Persian New Year which takes place on the spring equinox.

The colours are a reference to the Hindu festival of Holi, also known as the Festival of Spring or the Festival of Colours. I’m woefully ignorant about Hinduism and South Asia in general, so anything I say here would be Wikipedia knowledge, but I just love the idea of a festival where people paint-bomb each other.

‘Worker’ is a reference to Labour Day, which in many countries is celebrated on International Workers’ Day, i.e. 01 May.

The arrival of swallows is often associated with spring; my personal reference here is the French proverb “une hirondelle ne fait pas le printemps”, i.e. “a single swallow doesn’t mean it’s spring yet”.

Flying kites is a Greek tradition for Clean Monday, the first day of Lent.

‘Migration’ is an obvious reference to migratory birds, but it also applies to other animals (most famously the wildebeest of the Serengeti start moving north sometime in April) and also to people, such as transhumant and nomadic cattle-herders who move towards their summer pastures.

As you all noticed, there are several elements related to Easter and/or Passover on the card, since these are two major feasts that take place in spring. Most are well-known and require no explanation. I just want to highlight that, to me, ‘procession’ refers to an actual procession that takes place in the streets on the evening of Good Friday in orthodox countries from Russia to Greece and beyond (this is intended to mimic the funeral of Christ). Similarly, in my mental landscape, candles refer to the lighting of candles outside the church at midnight on Easter Eve (to indicate the moment of the resurrection). Of course, the Bingo card’s candles pull double duty as a reference to Passover, where they are used in the process of finding and eliminating all leavening agents, and unleavened bread is a better-known feature of Passover than of Orthodox Christianity, but in Greece at least it is a requirement on Clean Monday.

Spring Bingo Rules and Guidelines

1. All stories written for the Spring Bingo event must comply with the overall fanfiction rules and guidelines for this site, but you awesome people knew that already.
2. All stories written for the Spring Bingo event should have at least 500 words.
3. All stories written for the Spring Bingo event should be inspired by a row, column, or diagonal from the Spring Bingo Board.
4. Remember, to qualify for All Around The Board Bingo Champion, you must use all the prompts on the board for a story of at least 2500 words!
5. Stories written for the Spring Bingo may be submitted as entries for other challenges as well if you'd like them to pull double duty.

Spring Bingo Dates
Spring Bingo begins: 21 March 2023
Spring Bingo ends: 01 May 2023

Happy writing, and may the pollen be with you!

 

Index of entries:

By @devilinthedetails – SPRING BINGO WINNER

1. [A:TLA] The Last Spring Equinox (Haru one-shot) – awakening, migration, red and white yarn, breeze, hymn
2. The Butterfly Effect (High Republic) – egg, colors, sacrifice, buds, butterfly
​

By @earlybird-obi-wan: Earlybird Spring Bingo (High Republic) – ULTIMATE BINGO CHAMPION and ALL AROUND THE BOARD BINGO CHAMPION

1. Floating Stones or Not – egg, colours, sacrifice, buds, butterfly
2. Collecting- and baking lessons – sowing, bunny, worker, leavening, berries
3. Pruning or Not – hymn, swallows, hay fever, colours, sowing
4. And a Baby Makes Five – bonfire, candle, hay fever, bees, kites
5. Love Birds – procession, thaw, love, swallows, equinox
6. Knighting – awakening, migration, red & white yarn, breeze, hymn
7. An Emergency? – whole board
8. Return to Corellia – procession, thaw, love, swallows, equinox
​

By @JediMaster_Jen: She Didn't Begrudge Them...Not Really (Saga-PT, A/P, Obi-Wan, Luke, Leia, others) – ULTIMATE BINGO CHAMPION and ALL AROUND THE BOARD BINGO CHAMPION

1. Naboo – awakening, thaw, hay fever, buds, berries
2. Pasaana – bonfire, candle, hay fever, bees, kites
3. Mandalore – awakening, procession, bonfire, egg, sowing
4. Naboo #2 – awakening, migration, red and white yarn, breeze, hymn
5. Lothal – hymn, equinox, kites, butterfly, berries
6. The Stars Will Burn Again – whole board​

By @Vek Talis: Wicked (Before-Legends, young Sheev Palpatine) – SPRING BINGO WINNER

1. Veiled – awakening, thaw, hay fever, buds, berries
2. Emergence – awakening, migration, red & white yarn, breeze, hymn
3. Lessons – egg, colours, sacrifice, buds, butterfly
​

By @Mechalich: Acenou Collection I (Saga-Legends, tie-in to Of Small Propagules) – ULTIMATE BINGO CHAMPION

1. Shadows Old and New – awakening, procession, bonfire, egg, sowing
2. False Light Forward – migration, thaw, candle, colors, bunny
3. Bird Saps – red & white yarn, love, hay fever, sacrifice, worker
4. Baroque Buzzkill – breeze, swallows, bees, buds, leavening
5. Feathers & Fees – hymn, equinox, kites, butterfly, berries​

By @Mira_Jade – SPRING BINGO WINNER

1. And Dances With the Lilliadils (Song!verse, Jesse, OCs) – breeze, swallows, bees, buds, leavening
2. [Sense and Sensibility] The Hour of Feeling (ficlet collection) – whole board (WIP)
​

By @Chyntuck – ALL AROUND THE BOARD BINGO CHAMPION

The Day of the Founders (Ἀνάγκη prequel, OCs, Kiffu worldbuilding) – whole board​

By @Seldes_Katne – ALL AROUND THE BOARD BINGO CHAMPION

Season of Sharing (spring celebration at Sanbra University, OCs) – whole board​

 

You surprise me.

 

That was fast @devilinthedetails ! Got it in the index

 

earlybird spring bingo features my new OC Jarin Keana and his adventures in the time of the high republic. The first one is Floating stones using the bingo words
egg, colours, sacrifice, buds, butterfly

 

Someone's completed their KR vignette and moved on to this challenge apparently Thanks @earlybird-obi-wan, I got it in the index.

 

Super excited for this Spring Celebration!! Thanks @Chyntuck for these amazing prompts.

My first effort has been posted.

She Didn't Begrudge Them...Not Really

 

The second story is collecting- and baking lessons using the words
sowing, bunny, worker, leavening, berries

 

I'm glad that these prompts are inspiring you @JediMaster_Jen! I added you to the index, and @earlybird-obi-wan I got your second story in there too!

I'm working on my own entry. To nobody's surprise it's a longer one, so it'll be a few more days before I post.

I know that many of us are still working hard on their last KR entry, but I'm still curious to hear if anyone else has any ideas for this challenge yet!

 

Why wasn't I informed that there was an awesome challenge undertaken by the lovely @Chyntuck going on?!?!?!? Hmmmmm???

Methinks I shall have to peruse these fine categories of words and write something... dark and sinister.

 

@Vek Talis Because I know that you're knee-deep in writing projects right now, I'll just clarify straight away that entries for this challenge can be chapters of on-going fics too

 

Never too busy to delve into something... completely different. but definitely dark and sinister.

Forever to be known - by me - as the Springo Challenge. I just made that up on the spot.

 

I’m hoping the muse cooperates enough to write something! I love these prompts.

 

Wicked - Sheev Palpatine - Spring Bingo Challenge Story 1 - Veiled

 

pruning or not is the third part using the bingo words
Hymn, swallows, hay fever, colours, sowing

 

and a baby makes five is the fourth part using the bingo words
bonfire, candle, hay fever, bees, kites

 

W00t @earlybird-obi-wan you're on a roll! I got it in the index, and yours too @Vek Talis.

@amidalachick Here's hoping the muse gets to work! I don't know what it's like where you live, but here the orange and lemon trees blossomed and to me that's really the heavenly scent of spring.

I'm struggling a bit with my story because there's a lot of worldbuilding involved (and also because after the Kessel Run madness my brain has all but shut down), but I'll get there!

 

Emergence - Sheev Palpatine - Spring Bingo Challenge

I don't know what it is about spring that brings out the Dark Side in me.

 

You will definitely get there, @Chyntuck ! You are awesome and will kick your fic in the rear.

 

Calling the full bingo:
Shadows Old and New - awakening, procession, bonfire, egg, sowing
False Light Forward - migration, thaw, candle, colors, bunny
Bird Saps - red & white yarn, love, hay fever, sacrifice, worker
Baroque Buzzkill - breeze, swallows, bees, buds, leavening
Feathers & Fees - hymn, equinox, kites, butterfly, berries

 

Wowowow @Mechalich! Got it in the index. So much great reading ahead! And you're officially our first Ultimate Bingo Champion

@Vek Talis Thanks I'll get there, eventually, just need to refocus a bit.

 

Fic #2 is up using the words bonfire+candle+hay fever+bees+kites

Pasaana